Pre ordering tix to Museums in Florence?
Nov 6th, 2007, 07:05 AM
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Pre ordering tix to Museums in Florence?
My husband and I are leaving for Florence in two weeks (!!!) and I'm trying to decide how we should handle our museum visits...we'll only have 4 days in the city to look around, and I have heard it's best to pre-order or reserve tickets to museums before you go. I'm just not sure what is the best way to handle it, we're on a tight budget and with the exchange rate being what it is I want to be as efficient as possible! 
What is the best way to preorder tix? And what museums do you reccomend pre ordering for? I know we will be going to the Uffizi and the Academia (we're big art-fans), but haven't made up our minds about the rest yet.
Also I recently heard you can purchase a "Friends of the Uffizi" pass that will get you in to a number of attractions for free ( http://www.florenceforfun.org/ )...I believe it would cost us 60 Euros/person, which seems so expensive! Has anyone ever used it? Is it worth buying for a 4day trip? Would it be cheaper just to pay individually for the museums we want to see?
Any advice would be most appreciated!
What is the best way to preorder tix? And what museums do you reccomend pre ordering for? I know we will be going to the Uffizi and the Academia (we're big art-fans), but haven't made up our minds about the rest yet.
Also I recently heard you can purchase a "Friends of the Uffizi" pass that will get you in to a number of attractions for free ( http://www.florenceforfun.org/ )...I believe it would cost us 60 Euros/person, which seems so expensive! Has anyone ever used it? Is it worth buying for a 4day trip? Would it be cheaper just to pay individually for the museums we want to see?
Any advice would be most appreciated!
Nov 6th, 2007, 07:08 AM
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You're going to love Florence! My friend & I will be in Florence next week (2nd visit for me, 1st visit for her). I emailed our hotel, inquiring if they handled museum reservations for Accademia and Uffizi. They did, I emailed back a time frame, and let them handle it. Couldn't have been any easier! Hope this helps...
Nov 6th, 2007, 07:43 AM
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You can order via phone or (new) Web site. The phone method is very fast and efficient, and you're not obligated to pay until you pick up the tickets, so there's no downside to ordering in advance. Not sure if you must pay in advance on the Web site.
If you use the Web site, be sure it the "official" one. There are others that hot you with a big surcharge for ordering.
If you do a search here on "Uffizi" or "Accademia," you should find the phone number or Web site.
If you use the Web site, be sure it the "official" one. There are others that hot you with a big surcharge for ordering.
If you do a search here on "Uffizi" or "Accademia," you should find the phone number or Web site.
Nov 6th, 2007, 07:49 AM
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Booking tickets in advance for the Uffizi and Accademia:
You can book on line at
www.b-ticket.com/b%2Dticket/uffizi/default.aspx
You can book on line at
www.b-ticket.com/b%2Dticket/uffizi/default.aspx
Nov 6th, 2007, 08:03 AM
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We just returned from Florence where we spent 3 glorious days and HIGHLY recommend making reservations for the Uffizi and Accademia in advance. We simply emailed our hotel with dates/times and they handled it all for us.
The good news is that if something comes up and you don't use the reservation, no worries since you're not charged for it.
We just breezed on up to the reserve line and they let us in to pay.
Tip: when you go to the Uffizi, you will need to go to the door on the RIGHT side (if you are facing the Arno River) of the courtyard to pay for your tickets and then you proceed to the LEFT where the entrance is. It is not clearly marked and confusing for many. In the Uffizi, we lingered at the main "highlights", but walked through all the rooms. This took us about 1 1/2-2 hours to do.
The Accademia is smallish and you'll want to linger at David. We stared at David for about 45 minutes (nothing can prepare you for seeing David for the first time....awe-inspiring) and then toured the rest of the museum (about 1 1/2 -2 hours)
Our highlights included:
*climbing to the top of the Duomo. It's a trek of 473 or so steps, but the views of the interior dome (so close you could touch the frescos) and the church below were stunning. Not to mention the spectacular views of Florence with the church bells pealing. I'll remember that moment forever.
*the Museo of the Duomo where you can see the actual Bapistry doors and models as well as the Michaelangelo Pieta.
*Santa Croce Church. A must-see. We didn't have any church visits on our list and on a whim decided to tour this one. We were blown away at the beauty, history and sheer size of this masterpiece. Michaelangelo and Galileo's tombs are housed here...and after touring this church, we know why.
*Dinner at La Giostra. I can't say enough about our dinner there. It was an experience and the highlight of our 19 days in Italy.
*Dinner at Il Guscio in the Oltarno district. We enjoyed the long walk from our hotel in the Piazza della Signoria. The food was amazing and we enjoyed dining amidst laughing and happy locals. We were the only non-Italians there.
*View of Florence from Piazzale Michaelangelo at Sunset. We actually got up there at dusk and it was stunning. I'd recommend arriving there at least 1/2 hour before the sun sets. Take some Prosecco and make a toast. I've heard from locals that better views (and less crowds) are in Fiesole and at a Fort or Military platform (sorry, the name escapes me).
*Lunches at Il Pizzaiuolo (excellent authentic neopolitan pizzas...at very reasonable prices.) and Cantinetta del Verrazzano (very cozy Forno with luscious bruschetta, focaccia and cheeses. We made a meal of antipasti and tried a different glass of wine with each. Our server was excellent and kept bringing on great eats. We finished it off with a trio tart sampler of each chocolate truffle, fruit and cheese) which wasn't inexpensive with all we indulged...but, oh so magnifique!
*The best Gelato in all of Italy (in our humble opinion): Gelateria Albizi. We discovered it on a side street: Borgo degli Albizi 85r. The Pistachio and Hazelnut were exploding with fresh flavor. This is a true "mom and pop" operation of gelato artisans. Mom was serving us and gave us a quickie "Gelato 101" on how to make the best.
(Thank you to both Fodorities Ekscrunchy and Girlspytravel who recommended many of our choices in Florence.)
I'll be posting a very long indepth trip report within the next week or so where I hope there will be some tips you can use. This fabulous Fodor's board has been my travel planning companion for nearly 2 years and I hope to give something back.
Enjoy!
The good news is that if something comes up and you don't use the reservation, no worries since you're not charged for it.
We just breezed on up to the reserve line and they let us in to pay.
Tip: when you go to the Uffizi, you will need to go to the door on the RIGHT side (if you are facing the Arno River) of the courtyard to pay for your tickets and then you proceed to the LEFT where the entrance is. It is not clearly marked and confusing for many. In the Uffizi, we lingered at the main "highlights", but walked through all the rooms. This took us about 1 1/2-2 hours to do.
The Accademia is smallish and you'll want to linger at David. We stared at David for about 45 minutes (nothing can prepare you for seeing David for the first time....awe-inspiring) and then toured the rest of the museum (about 1 1/2 -2 hours)
Our highlights included:
*climbing to the top of the Duomo. It's a trek of 473 or so steps, but the views of the interior dome (so close you could touch the frescos) and the church below were stunning. Not to mention the spectacular views of Florence with the church bells pealing. I'll remember that moment forever.
*the Museo of the Duomo where you can see the actual Bapistry doors and models as well as the Michaelangelo Pieta.
*Santa Croce Church. A must-see. We didn't have any church visits on our list and on a whim decided to tour this one. We were blown away at the beauty, history and sheer size of this masterpiece. Michaelangelo and Galileo's tombs are housed here...and after touring this church, we know why.
*Dinner at La Giostra. I can't say enough about our dinner there. It was an experience and the highlight of our 19 days in Italy.
*Dinner at Il Guscio in the Oltarno district. We enjoyed the long walk from our hotel in the Piazza della Signoria. The food was amazing and we enjoyed dining amidst laughing and happy locals. We were the only non-Italians there.
*View of Florence from Piazzale Michaelangelo at Sunset. We actually got up there at dusk and it was stunning. I'd recommend arriving there at least 1/2 hour before the sun sets. Take some Prosecco and make a toast. I've heard from locals that better views (and less crowds) are in Fiesole and at a Fort or Military platform (sorry, the name escapes me).
*Lunches at Il Pizzaiuolo (excellent authentic neopolitan pizzas...at very reasonable prices.) and Cantinetta del Verrazzano (very cozy Forno with luscious bruschetta, focaccia and cheeses. We made a meal of antipasti and tried a different glass of wine with each. Our server was excellent and kept bringing on great eats. We finished it off with a trio tart sampler of each chocolate truffle, fruit and cheese) which wasn't inexpensive with all we indulged...but, oh so magnifique!
*The best Gelato in all of Italy (in our humble opinion): Gelateria Albizi. We discovered it on a side street: Borgo degli Albizi 85r. The Pistachio and Hazelnut were exploding with fresh flavor. This is a true "mom and pop" operation of gelato artisans. Mom was serving us and gave us a quickie "Gelato 101" on how to make the best.
(Thank you to both Fodorities Ekscrunchy and Girlspytravel who recommended many of our choices in Florence.)
I'll be posting a very long indepth trip report within the next week or so where I hope there will be some tips you can use. This fabulous Fodor's board has been my travel planning companion for nearly 2 years and I hope to give something back.
Enjoy!
Nov 6th, 2007, 08:48 AM
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Thanks so much for your replies!!
dorkforcemom - I never thought to email our hotel! I will have to see if I can try that (we booked our hotel through our travelpackage, so I haven't really had any dealings with them yet!) Do hotels generally charge for that sort of service, or is that just covered in a "tip" of sorts?
Adventureseeker- Thatnk you for your amazing recs!! We will definately try some of those out!! Your food experience sounds amazing (we're a pair of foodies too!), I hope we can try dome of those places. We will be on a budget, but we did plan on celebrating our aniversary with a delicious (somewhat expensive) meal, so heres hoping! XD
dorkforcemom - I never thought to email our hotel! I will have to see if I can try that (we booked our hotel through our travelpackage, so I haven't really had any dealings with them yet!) Do hotels generally charge for that sort of service, or is that just covered in a "tip" of sorts?
Adventureseeker- Thatnk you for your amazing recs!! We will definately try some of those out!! Your food experience sounds amazing (we're a pair of foodies too!), I hope we can try dome of those places. We will be on a budget, but we did plan on celebrating our aniversary with a delicious (somewhat expensive) meal, so heres hoping! XD
Nov 6th, 2007, 09:01 AM
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You're welcome!
The reservations are part of the service your inn/hotel will do for you. Our hotel also made our reservations at both La Giostra and Il Guscio.
If you dine at La Giostra, they have 2 dinner seatings. Not sure what time the first one is, but ours was at 9:30pm (which we were seated at 10pm). They offer complimentary Prosecco while you wait and we engaged in delightful conversations with others while sipping good bubbly! tip: they will bring a complimentary antipasti tray (w/ bruschetta, pates, etc.) to your table which is large (consider this...as you won't over order). Our faves: an exotic mushroom salad, an amazing buratta cheese with truffles and a succulent roasted chicken and vegetable platter. When our server decanted our wine....that was an artform and entertainment in itself. And then there's "The Prince". Enough said...truly, a night to remember.
Sorry...I got carried away!
Enjoy!
The reservations are part of the service your inn/hotel will do for you. Our hotel also made our reservations at both La Giostra and Il Guscio.
If you dine at La Giostra, they have 2 dinner seatings. Not sure what time the first one is, but ours was at 9:30pm (which we were seated at 10pm). They offer complimentary Prosecco while you wait and we engaged in delightful conversations with others while sipping good bubbly! tip: they will bring a complimentary antipasti tray (w/ bruschetta, pates, etc.) to your table which is large (consider this...as you won't over order). Our faves: an exotic mushroom salad, an amazing buratta cheese with truffles and a succulent roasted chicken and vegetable platter. When our server decanted our wine....that was an artform and entertainment in itself. And then there's "The Prince". Enough said...truly, a night to remember.
Sorry...I got carried away!
Enjoy!
